Do you suppose we could get the moderator to add study of the index (and concentrate all these threads?). You've done so much work here but I think it gets lost between the other deck studies. I see lots and lots of views on the threads (though not many other posters...LURKERS!!! )

I notice odd things when I read up on decks and how they're organized and then rearrange them to fit my preconceived notions on them, and I usually do it without regard to the way the artist has arranged them. But I saw something interesting when I was doing my rearrangement of things with this deck that coincides with a personal philosophy I adopted long ago with regard to ideas and communication. In a pattern of Thought-Speech-Action, in that order.

Tarot adds a step or two to that system with Wands (inspiration) and Cups (emotion) so that the steps, to me, then become Inspiration-Emotional Value-Thought/Speech-Action, with action being the physical manifestation of the other three suits (Pentacles).

In the companion book, Marie organizes the suits as Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles.
I know she first organizes them according to the number of the suit but then comes the suit itself. So then the pattern becomes Inspiration-Thought/Speech-Emotional Value-Action (Wands-Swords-Cups-Disks).

Why does it matter? Well, I'm not sure it does for most people as the emotional value of things generally change over time, but to me (and this really IS just my opinion) it alters the value of the cards in some way. I know this isn't very clear, please bear with me.

Let me try to clarify by an extremely simple example:

#1. Inspiration-Emotional Value-Thought/Speech-Action

Jane knows something is missing in her life. There's a hole where she feels some belief in a greater power should be and she's inspired to find something that works for her.
She searches and searches and finds nothing but she's greatly enjoyed the search itself and found it quite satisfying. She talks to a publisher about her experience and writes a book about all that she's researched.

#2. Inspiration-Thought/Speech-Emotional Value-Action

Tom wants to write a book about spirituality. He speaks to a publisher about it and sets off on his search during which he finds one particular belief system he finds so profoundly moving that he stops looking at any other belief systems and becomes a devotee of that movement.

Ok I know now after all this that it's just me and that it doesn't really matter. It's just the way it's arranged and I can shuffle it around as I see fit. It's just an observation I made when I got the deck but I wanted to share it nevertheless. It's another one of those subtle elements within the deck to me.

The Mary El is being perceived as a dark deck, but I see a tremendous amount of force struggling to balance throughout the deck, it is certainly apparent in the Aces!

I saw that some see this as a dark deck in other threads. Maybe I don't quite understand what it means because I just don't get a dark sense from the majority of the deck. So far I've found it thought-provoking and at times I struggle to "get it" and fit it into a reading but that may just be me.

Is a deck that causes one to pause and ponder things considered a dark deck? I really don't know to be honest. I may post this question to the Tarot Decks area during my second cup of morning coffee.

Its perhaps not so much dark as it is deep. Every time I use it, it forces me to bring the issue back down to how hidden or unacknowledged emotional or psychological factors are influencing the people involved.

I can accept the idea of depth in a deck. I still don't find that dark, however. To me, it's like nuances found in language. It doesn't happen so much in English, but in French it's found in every verb and every noun. Art is a language IMO.

Yes, that's it exacly: nuanced. I struggle to relate some of the images to their identities, notably the infamous Ace of Wands which appears to depict madness and self-abuse, but in the context of readings, some of the most disturbing images make perfect sense.

There are difficult things that happen in every person's life, and I don't know anyone who can say that would disagree. This deck is able to address these things, but it's as capable of speaking about the joyful and serene things too.

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